Tank - Don't Walk Away - VINYL LP

Vinyl reissue of Slayers 2009 album WORLD PAINTED BLOOD.

Johann Strauss II's operetta Waldmeister('Woodruff') was staged for the first time in December 1895. The plotline - a case of mistaken identity somewhat reminiscent of Die Fledermaus- is lively, but the libretto itself proved to be less than satisfying. However, the vivacious and immaculately orchestrated music featuring several pieces that would go on to become famous, including the waltz Trau, schau, wem and the polka Klipp-Klapp-Galopp, earned Strauss immense admiration. Attending the opening night with Johannes Brahms was Vienna's leading critic Eduard Hanslick who hailed the new work by asserting that 'Mozart's golden sound reigns in [Strauss's] orchestra'.

The Moon and the Melodies is a singular record within the Cocteau Twins' catalogue - unusually ethereal, even by their standards, and largely instrumental, guided by the free-form improvisations of Harold Budd, an ambient pioneer who had drifted into their orbit as if by divine intervention. Building on the atmospheric bliss of Victorialand, released earlier the same year, it signaled a possible future for the trio, yet it was a path they'd never take again. Now, almost forty years after it was first released, it's being reissued on vinyl for the first time - remastered, from the original tapes, by Robin Guthrie himself. No-one involved can recall exactly how it came about. As Guthrie and Simon Raymonde remember it, the independent television station Channel 4 approached them about a film project pairing musicians from different genres. In interviews in the 1980s, however, Budd (who sadly passed away in 2020), believed his linked them after the group had expressed interest in covering one of his songs. In any case, the film never happened. InchBut we'd spoken to Harold, and we were all quite excited about it,Inch Raymonde recalls. Convening in the band's newly built recording studio, all four got on immediately and over a fortnight, made a quite astounding record. The Moon and the Melodies has attracted a passionate fan base. It's most atmospheric tracks routinely turn up in ambient DJ sets. 'Sea, Swallow Me' is one of the Cocteau Twins' most streamed songs on Spotify. Raymonde believes the record's uniqueness stems from it's unpremeditated origins. InchIt captured a moment in time between friends that are enjoying making music together. That's the essence of it.Inch